Holy Spirit Motivated… “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighted by the Lord.” Proverbs 16:2
Why do you do what you do? Is it for the glory of God, or for the satisfaction of self? There is a subtle difference in serving with the Lord for His glory, and doing our own thing and only mentioning Him as an afterthought. We cannot impartially judge our hearts, but Christ can. We are too close, to be totally objective in our assessment of our actions and motives. However, the Holy Spirit has an effective way to weigh what we do.
Sometimes His way doesn’t make sense. He has you in a fruitful situation and then the Holy Spirit leads you to an overwhelming need with discouraged disciples. Like Philip, “The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”… “Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:29, 39). Are you willing to leave a place where you are loved for an unknown initiative? Is your heart in it for Him and what’s best for the Kingdom, or is it about making known your name?
Jesus experienced this before His intense temptation with the devil, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:1-2). Sometimes He leads us through the desert of temptation to purify our motives. Adversity prepares us to offer up the praise of people as a praise offering to the Lord. Indeed, gratitude to God gives Him the glory.
In reality, only God really knows the authenticity of your motivations. Furthermore, Holy Spirit motivated work will sustain you to serve. Like the captain of a ship, you serve for the sake of the crew to keep the pirates at bay. Ponder, ‘Am I willing to do what I do without pay, or lesser pay for a period of time, or is money my true motive?’ ‘Can I be content with only the consolation of Christ for my efforts?’ Therefore, start with pure prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
Related Readings: Deuteronomy 9:4; 1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 16:15; 2 Corinthians 10:12
Transformational Living
What did I learn from the Lord in today’s Bible reading?
How will I respond?
